Winston-Salem State University’s Center for Community Safety (CCS) has been selected to provide technical assistance and training support for Weed and Seed programs in eight states around the nation to enhance their ability to help ex-offenders return to communities from incarceration.

The 2008 Reentry Public Safety Initiative, a product of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO), is a 13-month technical assistance project that will enable the selected cities to promote and sustain a variety of initiatives geared toward helping individuals reenter communities after they are released from prisons and jails. Weed and Seed, a (DOJ) community-based strategy, is an innovative and comprehensive multi-agency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization.

Most Weed and Seed communities have a high concentration of ex-offenders returning to their communities, many of which are already taxed with limited resources and high crime rates.  It is known that in 2007, more than 700,000 people were released from state or federal prisons.  In response, Weed and Seed helps reduce crime and recidivism, and bridges and leverages resources within a city to improve public safety in the geographically targeted communities.

Utilizing its eight-year history in addressing community justice and community safety issues, WSSU’s CCS will lead the project with the eight communities to address their reentry public safety needs.

The selected cities are: Phoenix, AZ; Palm Beach, FL; Indianapolis, IN; San Antonio, TX; St. Louis, MO; Pawtucket, RI; Irvington, NJ; and New Bedford, MA.  WSSU’s CCS along with other expert consultants will provide the identified reentry training and customized technical assistance for each of the selected cities.

The training will be delivered via site visits, web- and technology-based tools, and through participation in the CCDO’s national conference in July 2009.

Each selected city will gain access to a broad range of benefits, including:

• Direct access to national experts;
• Individualized program design and implementation support;
• Understanding and implementation of a data-collection process for measuring outcomes and evaluation;
• Assistance exploring the federal and state funding options available to support local reentry programs; and
• Opportunities to participate in a cross-site national network.

Project lessons and ideas will be shared with other sites nationally through the DOJ’s and CCS’s partnerships through articles, publications, workshops and on-line communications.  The CCDO has provided funding for project activities.

“We are honored to continue this role in this national effort,” says Alvin Atkinson, interim director of WSSU’s CCS. “WSSU’s CCS has served in a training and technical capacity role to the CCDO each consecutive year since 2005.”